Stereogum on NYC Rock Resurgence

[muzzleofbees]

Stereogum goes back to the NYC scene of the early 00s - and Hold Steady gets a pretty sweet mention.

"04. The Hold Steady – “Most People Are DJs”
It’s sort of shocking to look back and realize that the Hold Steady released Almost Killed Me, Separation Sunday, Boys And Girls In America, and Stay Positive within a four-year span. The consistent strength of that catalog is just plain crazy, and it has to be one of the best four-album runs in recent memory. These guys are, actually, another band that were a bit of an anomaly in the NYC rock scene ten years ago. Craig Finn’s wordiness was a rush of American experience, not just New York experience. And while the scuzzy classic rock of the early Hold Steady albums works very well for walking down Manhattan and Brooklyn streets alike, it also tells different stories when you’re driving down some highway anywhere else in the country. That’s the thing about these guys and the Walkmen and TVOTR — they were all around in NYC, playing music that reflected the city in some way, but were all also able to move beyond it (whether physically or spiritually) and become general indie luminaries as other rock resurgence leaders floundered. So while they all might be something of the exceptions to the scene, that’s also what makes them feel like the greatest artists produced from the era. They might not evoke the exact feeling of NYC circa 2001 or 2002, but they’re the ones who took it a step forward afterwards, who kept it going in other directions when a lot of the bands below totally stalled out or disappeared altogether. Not to say that the Hold Steady’s trajectory has been entirely smooth. After accruing what appeared to be a totally bulletproof critical reputation, the band flagged somewhat with 2010′s Heaven Is Whenever. They released their sixth album, Teeth Dreams, back in March, and while reactions weren’t universally positive, generally it was very well-received, and had some great stuff on it."

The opening text makes me wanna go back to NYC right now, with Interpol and Strokes in my headphones.

The entire text/list: www.stereogum.com/1719309/26-essential-songs-from-the-nyc-rock-resurgence/list/

[doctoracula]

i enjoyed the THS blurb but MAN did i hate almost everything coming out of that whole scene

[muzzleofbees]

Nov 22, 2014 13:42:46 GMT -5 doctoracula said:

i enjoyed the THS blurb but MAN did i hate almost everything coming out of that whole scene

At least in dying...

I really liked Is This It and Turn On The Bright Ligths. I think I came a little late to the party to experience them as a part of a scene, but those two records still bring back memories of the early 00s. Also, I think they have aged well.

[doctoracula]

I was really into that Interpol record when it came out but I got sick of it quickly. I honestly never would lump THS in with the rest of those bands. They struck me, at least at the time, as being concerned with style first and foremost. Also they all struck me as being kinda dumb. THS felt like the total opposite when I heard them, a really smart band with songs at the forefront instead of style.

[doctoracula]

Liars got pretty awesome once they ditched their initial sound though haha

[muzzleofbees]

Nov 22, 2014 18:24:52 GMT -5 doctoracula said:

I was really into that Interpol record when it came out but I got sick of it quickly. I honestly never would lump THS in with the rest of those bands. They struck me, at least at the time, as being concerned with style first and foremost. Also they all struck me as being kinda dumb. THS felt like the total opposite when I heard them, a really smart band with songs at the forefront instead of style.

Yeah, totally agree. I don't think THS have anything in common with "the wave". That's why I got a bit surprised seeing them on the list, cause they seem (at least in retrospect) more like a response to that wave than a part of it.

But I'm not so sure about that style/songs or style/substance thing. To me, Strokes has plenty of good (or even great) songs. I didn't listen to Is This it for years, but I picked it up again in 2008 or 2009, when my Hold Steady obsession was at it's best/worst, and was surprised of how fresh and good it still sounded. Actually, it was easier to appreciate it a few years later, when all that style stuff was moved a bit in the background. As a record it held up perfectly well. Turn On The Bright Lights feels a bit more dated, but not in a bad way. I never thought it was as good as Is This It, not back then, and not now, but I still enjoy it. And I would argue that bot that and the second Interpol records, has plenty of good songs.

So even if Hold Steady in some way felt like a response to the NYC wave, rather than being a part of it, I still enjoy both. The inclusion on the Stereogum list is maybe a bit weird, but also kinda cool.

(I just looked through the list again, and I think the two bands I dig the most of them, are the two least connected to everyone else: Hold Steady and TV On The Radio. Also, Les Savy Fav is pretty amazing. I got into them around the same time as Hold Steady, and think they have a few things in common)

[doctoracula]

The Strokes never did anything for me. They sounded to me like total knockoffs of bands that already existed, and I could never get past the feeling that they only got a record deal because of nepotism.

[orzelc]

The Strokes were a great shuffle-play band, in that I like most of the individual songs just fine, but listening to a whole album of it never really worked-- a lot of the songs ended up sounding kind of lazy, and even disinterested. Which is kind of where the style over substance thing comes in-- they had moments where it seemed like they could be a truly great band, but that they didn't care to put in the effort. That it would break their cool to really commit to the music.

I don't think I'd put The Hold Steady in with that scene. In fact, wasn't there at least one promo interview for Teeth Dreams (maybe that Grantland podcast?) where Craig and Tad talk about the band being a reaction against that sound? They wanted to have a band that actually played guitar solos, which was kind of anathema to the garage revival thing.